gjcarew
-
Posts
446 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1 -
Feedback
0%
Content Type
Forums
Downloads
Store
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Profiles
Posts posted by gjcarew
-
-
You can put small spring clamps on the rim of your aquarium then balance the light on that. It's what I did with this aquarium (excuse the algae). Looks kinda janky but it works.
-
1
-
-
I don't really have any input since I haven't used salt in a freshwater aquarium before. I'm just curious why you add salt?
From a pure fertilization standpoint, magnesium sulfate and potassium sulfate will allow you to add a known quantity of Mg and K. They are pretty readily available at garden stores as epsom salts and sulfate of potash, respectively.
-
On 7/23/2022 at 10:02 AM, Mmiller2001 said:
How about doing a Barclaya longifola?
That's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for but from Greggz' journal it seems like they're prone to melting completely away, which is a bit risky from a contest standpoint.
-
On 7/23/2022 at 6:59 AM, Mmiller2001 said:
Ozelot Red?
That's what I was thinking but all the pictures I've seen show it staying a bit smaller. Not the end of the world, but I would need something to fill in behind it.
-
1
-
-
Welp, the tiger lotus has gone dormant and is now a rootless bulb. The entire scape kind of needs it so I'm probably going to just get another.
I kinda prefer just the sword there instead of having a crowded-looking ludwigia in the background, but that side of the tank needs some color. Anyone have suggestions for a non-green sword plant that grows really big?
I replanted the erio Vietnam and it's looking a lot better now. I had a bunch of GDA on the glass this week so I assume that the problems from last week were not due to insufficient nitrate.
-
1
-
-
My wife always wants a tank with a castle, I love the look you've got there!
-
I'm not going to get too in to the weeds on the science of specific spectrums but you can definitely grow plants with 2700k lights. High pressure sodium lights that they use for growing sun-loving plants indoors commercially are around 1900-2000K. The spectrum really matters more for how we see the plants-- cooler color temps help make greens pop and penetrate water better.
I love the look of warm aquarium lights, it just feels cozy. I linked Christel Kasselmann's huge tanks below that she has warm color temp lights on. -
Looks to be some sort of isoetes. They're a unique genus and can be tough to propagate (depending on the species). Here's a report from my club's horticulture awards program:
Gallons: 22 Long
Temperature: 75
pH: 6.3
Hardness: 1 KH 3 GH
SubstrateType: ADA Amazonia II
SubstrateDepth: 1-2 Inches
CO2Type: Pressurized w/inline diffuser
Filtration: Oase Biomaster Thermo Canister
SunlightHours: 4
SunlightDirect: Direct
LightingType: LED
Watts: 75 Watts LED (not on 100% though)
ColorTemp: Chihiros WRGB
FertType: Dry fertilizers
FertBrand: generic
FertDosage: 14 ppm NO3, 6.5 ppm PO4, 32 ppm K, .3 ppm Fe, 2.6 ppm Mg
OtherInfo
Isoetes japonica is a quillwort, and they reproduce unlike any other aquarium plants I know of. They do not do well with vegetative propagation (division). To propagate, I took a microphyll that was dying back off the outside of the plant. I then plucked another microphyll from the inside of the plant. As heterosporous plants, fertile Isoetes sporophytes produce megaspores and microspores, which develop in the megasporangia and microsporangia. The megaspores are located in the outer microphylls and the microspores are located in the inner microphylls, so it's important to take them from the two different locations. In good condition, the microspores and megaspores will form microgametophytes and megagametophytes, which then make sperm and egg, respectively. The megagametophytes are actually visible if you crush the base of a microphyll between your fingers. All I did was crush the bulbous bases of the two microphylls between my fingers to introduce sperm to egg, then scrape my fingers off in the aquarium substrate. A couple months later, a young isoetes plant popped up! In the picture, the young isoetes is located behind the bucephalandra.-
1
-
The pond out front is now chock full of rhadinocentrus ornatus fry. I finally bit the bullet on an Aquarium Co-op brine shrimp hatchery and it's way better than what I had before. The stand really does suck though, I have to figure out a solution for it.
Remember all that buce I removed from the 75? It's been hanging out in a little closed terrarium looking happy as a clam.
Fun fact- that orchid (Ludisia discolor) grows in the same forests as bucephalandra in the wild.
-
1
-
1
-
-
On 7/17/2022 at 7:22 AM, Mmiller2001 said:
Any time my Erectus acts funny, I know I am a bit too high on Nitrates. Mine likes between 16 and 18ppm.
I think the tank is looking good and can't wait to see it really grown in.
I'm dosing 13 ppm/week and it's currently in the 5-10 ppm range (at least on the aquarium coop test strips). I'm hesitant to raise nitrate dosing until I see signs of nitrate deficiency, since many plants seem to do better with lower nitrates.
-
1
-
-
On 7/17/2022 at 7:34 AM, Minanora said:
My eriocaulon Vietnam likes the pH to be very low and it almost requires root tabs to keep it happy. Even then I have some leaves die on the bottom areas. I think it's due to my hardness levels. Or maybe not enough flow, but my gut says my water is too hard.
I'll pop some root tabs in there and see what happens!
-
1
-
-
Not much to update from last week. I replanted the hygrophila difformis which is still not great but is improving. I also gave the ludwigia ovalis a big "lazy" trim by just cutting it off halfway up.
A few specific plants are having problems. The tiger lotus appears to have made a baby and gone dormant, but at least the baby is still growing.
The eriocaulon Vietnam has some dying leaves on the bottom, plus the group just doesn't look very good. I need to figure out how to shape it better. I also don't know what I causing the dying leaves - it might be warmer water in the summer or some kind of deficiency.
The pogostemon erectus stunted and is throwing off side shoots. Not sure exactly what causes this either. Sometimes pogo erectus grows like clockwork and sometimes it makes a bunch of side shoots, I can't figure out what causes it.
-
2
-
-
On 7/11/2022 at 9:01 AM, LaloJ said:
Nice work. I haven't been able to read the whole thread so I apologize if you already talked about Co2, are you using it??
Yes, I'm injecting CO2 with an inline diffuser.
-
1
-
-
On 7/10/2022 at 12:49 AM, nabokovfan87 said:
Maybe this is a "beginner question" or just a very specific point in the fish keeping career, but I think it's an interesting one.
Where did you learn how to keep plants? I enjoy the way you're discussing how to process the trimmings and I think it's something where myself, other hobbyists that might not be so in tune with plants, really can benefit from advice like this.
Corvus Oscen has been my best source for trimming advice and learning how to actually care for the plants.Love corvus' videos, he is very knowledgeable and I love how calm his vibe is.
I really like Dennis Wong's specific guides and general approach to caring for plants. Tom Barr also has some great info and club talks out there.
This particular technique came from Christen Kasselmann who doesn't speak much English but probably knows more about aquarium plants than any one alive (Tom Barr and Holger Windelov would be others in contention, but they don't do social media).
-
2
-
-
On 7/10/2022 at 7:32 AM, Patrick_G said:
Can you talk about the tower of Microsorum? Did you grow it horizontally and then move it? What variety is it?
I've moved them a bunch, but they did the majority of their growing attached to the back wall. I needed more midground plants so I attached it to a piece of mopani wood and they've been growing there for the past month/ month-and-a-half.
The variety is sp. India which I got from the mystery plant of the month back when that was a thing. It's a dwarf variety. Regular Java fern is a little too big for my purposes. If you like it and want to keep it let me know and I can get you a piece at the next GSAS event!
-
Added the pearlweed and Brazilian pennywort. The pearlweed and water wisteria still need some love but otherwise this tank will probably be ready for photos in the next month or so
-
3
-
-
Haven't seen anything in a month, how's it going?
-
Double post day because I wanted to show how I trim and arrange stem plants.
Step 1. Uproot everything
Step 2. Arrange by height
Step 3. Trim to the appropriate length, remove any branching stems
Step 4. Remove adventitious ("aerial") roots and lower leaves
Step 5. Replant. How you do this depends on the shape you're going for, but in general taller plants go in back
This is only for plants where you don't want a "bush" shape. Since I don't have rotala anymore this is how I've been doing all my stems. It's kind of time consuming but you can get some very manicured groups with this process. Making round bushes is a whole other ballgame that I honestly need more practice with.
Rosette plants are easy, I just rip any unattractive leaves off at the base.
-
2
-
-
On 7/2/2022 at 7:38 AM, Odd Duck said:
Looks pretty cool, to me. But give the poor lily some time! 😆 😉
Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with. Plus it's been like six months, I'm starting to think it is just gonna stay small forever.
Edit: Ha! I went back to find when I added the lily and it has only been in this tank for a month. See point #1 😆
-
2
-
-
Working on some trimming. I know what you're thinking: "Gavin, you deranged freak, you can't have two streets in a tank under 5 feet!"
True, but I kinda like it. I'm gonna add the remaining groups and If I still like the look of the blyxa japonica I'll straighten out the Lobelia street.
Remaining groups are tentatively pearlweed just right of the Java fern log and Brazilian pennywort as the front right curtain.
I've also kinda given up on the lily growing tall and I think I'm just gonna move it forward.
-
1
-
-
Love those guppies! They look like tiny koi
-
1
-
-
On 6/28/2022 at 4:09 PM, Corbidorbidoodle said:
Ya know, I actually just went ahead and ordered some more easy tabs. My brain legit melts when science is happening around me. I'm a very good visual artist, but I don't science good. The easy tabs are just so effective that I decided DIY isn't worth the savings this time.
Not a sponsor.😉
That was gonna be my suggestion. If they work so well... just use them! The osmocote will still be useful around your garden.
-
On 6/28/2022 at 10:34 AM, Corbidorbidoodle said:
Sorry, yeah. I've been trying the Plus version. I always forget to specify that.
Aquarium Co-op's root tabs contain mineralized topsoil and clay. Both have high cation exchange capacity, which means they retain nutrients for a longer period of time. If you are using osmocote+ with coarse sand or gravel, nutrients can quickly leach into the water column rather than staying in the root zone. You could try mixing regular topsoil in with the osmocote in your root tabs to see if that helps.
-
Submerge it in seltzer water overnight
-
1
-
Learning pressurized CO2 in planted tanks
in General Discussion
Posted
Welcome to the dark side, I hope your scissors are sharp!